Mission

The Houston Friendship & Wellness Circle is building an inclusive and compassionate community where people of all abilities and mental health are valued, supported, and empowered. Through friendship, volunteer engagement and social programs, we foster connection, promote resilience, and provide various avenues of support. Guided by the Jewish values of kindness, respect, and communal responsibility, we work to reduce stigma, remove barriers, and ensure every individual feels at home and able to thrive within the Jewish and Greater Houston Communities.

Since 2004, The Houston Friendship and Wellness Circle Inc. has been building and sustaining a growing network of social services and programs that ensure no one feels alone, every person is valued, and friendships become the foundation for purpose, growth, and fulfillment.
Core Values

Our Programs

Adult Programming:

The Friendship Circle Adult Division is a program for adults with disabilities. Judaic and social programs are arranged every month,
Founded in 1999 with the help and guidance of Ms. Ileene Robinson Z"L to service the State Schools (now State Supported Living Centers).
The Adult division now services the Richmond and Brenham State Supported Living Centers as well as other facilities in the Greater Houston area, with monthly visits and Holiday Programs.

The Adult Division also offers active programming to our clients that have out-grown Youth programming (but are not in State Supported Living Centers) or are at Celebration Company. They now have monthly/bi-monthly programs and activities to choose from e.g. bowling, mini-golf etc.
YJP Houston (Young Jewish Professionals) and other Jewish organizations in the Greater Houston Community pair up with our adults with disabilities at scheduled events, to participate in mainstream activities in the Jewish Community.

Youth Division:

The Friendship Circle Youth Division builds education and awareness through our volunteer programs and school curriculum. Teens are paired up with their Friendship Circle buddies and visit them in the comfort of their homes, offering friendship and support to youths and much needed respite for parents and families.
Look out for our Annual Community-Wide Friendship Walk, to our educational workshops throughout the greater Houston area, Friendship Circle continues to advocate friendship and inclusion for all.

Friendship Garden:

In collaboration with Urban Harvest, the Friendship Garden is an inclusive garden that grows trees, fruits, vegetables and of course friendship.
Situated in West Houston, the Friendship Circle Garden is an inclusive community garden with handicap accessible planter boxes. The garden grows a variety of vegetables, fruits, flowers, and five varieties of fruit trees. It boasts a rose and wildflower garden, a koi fish and reptile pond, an organic honey beehive, a mediation gazebo, garden benches, and a water fountain!

Celebration Company visits and works in the Garden every week together with Urban Harvest.
There are also Communal Inclusive Gardening Days open to all, offering educational programs structured to teach participants about the plant and insect life native to this region.
Group courses are available by appointment

Nefesh Network:

In 2019, Friendship Circle established a Mental Health branch entitled, The Nefesh Network. It provides peer mentoring for clients that need encouragement, promote general Mental Health awareness and offer educational courses by the Jewish Learning Institute.

Wellness Institute:

Strengthening Mental Health in Our Community through educational resources for prevention.

The Wellness Institute of Houston,  addresses critical gaps in youth mental health education through evidence-based programsand educational resources for prevention for teens, parents, educators, and clinicians in Houston’s Jewish and Jewish-adjacent communities. Our approach combines cutting-edge research with Jewish wisdom to build resilience, foster connection, and transform mental health support.

Teen Resilience Programs:
Evidence-based curricula that empower teens to navigate life’s challenges through a Jewish lens, building crucial skills for emotional well-being.

Parent & Educator Trainings:
Expert-led workshops on healthy attachment, emotion regulation, resilience-building, warning signs recognition, and effective interventions.

Community Partnerships:
Collaborative initiatives and awareness events that unite organizations across Houston to prioritize youth mental health.

Educational Resources:
Original publications by leading experts providing practical guidance for supporting youth mental health.

Professional Development:
Specialized training for clinicians to enhance competence in working with suicide risk and crisis intervention.

Chaplaincy Services:
Pastoral Counseling for clients in the Menninger Clinic and other Mental Health facilities in the Houston area.

Seniors Golden Circle:

Seniors Golden Circle is a unique volunteer program, created to enhance the lives of local seniors. Many of us have parents or family who are seniors, living alone or in senior facilities, that would greatly benefit from an extra visit from someone who isn’t family. Family cannot always visit as often as desired, and not always is there someone else to supplement those visits. Seniors Golden Circle  matches local volunteers with local seniors for visits, bringing joy and a sense of caring and support to many.